The Center for Creative Scholars recognizes a
philosophical debt to Dr. E. Paul Torrance, University of Georgia
professor emeritus of educational psychology, who dedicated his life to
the study of the creative personality. Dr. Torrance coined the term
“Creative Scholars” for young people vested in
cutting edge study within a mentoring environment. In 1991, his former
doctoral student Dr. Read Diket broadened Dr. Torrance’s
concept to the university setting at William Carey College, now William
Carey University.

The Center serves a variety of purposes and students at
all levels of learning. Creativity Workshops, one-day in winter and
three-days in summer, afford graduate students in gifted education rich
opportunities to work with top young people identified into the
programs. High achieving college students work on individually authored
honors projects and special projects in statistics. Each year excellent
projects are published as “Field Notes.” Graduate
students create service learning multi media presentations, and they
co-author “white papers” for stakeholders in the
field. The Center director and board envision a continuum of learning,
with ample opportunities for sharing across educational levels.